Administration of the State Railways During the Fascist Regime: The Creation of the Ministry of Communications

Abstract

The political and social climate in Italy at the end of the First World War was fertile ground for the establishment of the Fascist Regime. During Fascism, even the transport sector, already strained by the war effort, was subject to organisational changes aimed at establishing greater political control. A well-defined pattern was imposed on the organisation of the State Railway Administration, as a state rail transport body, accompanied by a strict military order. During the fascist period, two distinct phases of change in the internal organisation of the State Railways Administration can essentially be identified. The first was marked, in 1922, by the appointment of the Extraordinary Commissioner for the State Railways, while the second, which determined the real beginning of the Fascist administration for the State Railways, was characterised by the establishment of the Ministry of Communications, which took place with Royal Legislative Decree RDL. No. 596 of 30 April 1924. The contribution, after a brief historical reconstruction of the development of the Italian railway network, focuses on the analysis of the railway transport system during the years of Fascism, highlighting how the regime, in a highly strategic sector such as transport, actually implemented timid political-institutional transformations. Specifically, the work analyses the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and the reorganisation of railway services.